Beast Kind
by phantomworks
Summary: Prince Sasuke is simply roaming his family's palace one day when he hears strange scratching noises in one of the storage rooms. A strange figure appears in their and attacks him, kidnapping him afterwards. Who is this person? How did a Beastman get in?


Phantomworks; here's a new story for Naruto. There'll be a lot of chapters in this one.

**Alice: how many exactly?**

Phantomworks; uh… a… lot? I don't own Naruto or its characters, only this fanfic.

Chapter 1

_Darkness reigned in the underground. Earth shifted through clawed fingers. Damp air felt good against work heated skin. Scents began to change as he came closer to his goal._

Sasuke Uchiha wandered through his family's mansion. As the second heir to the family head and likewise to the title of the emperor, he wasn't watched as closely as his brother. While he had cherished the prospect of being unnoticed when he was younger and more prone to ditching lessons, the young heir now found it quite unfair that his parents paid more attention to Itachi, his brother, than to him. Especially during this brief respite between humans and the beast kind also on this continent.

Beast kind…

Savages, brutes, Grutals –whatever you wanted to call them, were the natives here when the humans had arrived on this island. They had no strategy or plot to their military moves nor did they strike him as ones to need them. What they couldn't steal or find, they acquired with cruel force. The only reason the humans had survived so long was because of newly developed long range weapons that protected them from the sharp claws and vicious fangs of the bloodthirsty beasts.

The war had been going on so long that Sasuke briefly wondered how many natives were left.

_His nose twitched, scenting the air and locating a vast source of food somewhere above him. Licking his lips, he changed courses, digging his clawed toes into the rough dirt and scraping away the dirt above him as he burrowed himself out._

Absentminded, Sasuke let his feet carry him through the castle and down to the main floor. Studiously ignoring the gaping females and love-eyed servants, the Uchiha trailed along the wall, keeping a level gaze as he continued to think of the beast kind.

The recent pause in activity had him worried. It's as if they were planning something, something that would seriously damage their land claim as it is. But what?

What could they possibly be scheming?

Silently, Sasuke entered a storeroom where they kept most food stores for winter. Salted meats and jarred fruits and vegetables alike were arranged precariously above him on high shelves. The floor creaked underneath him, though not from his own footsteps.

What could that be?

In the floor, there was a square trapdoor that was meant to be a secret exit if the royal family ever needed it. Contrary to popular belief, the back of the mansion (where he was now) had a raised foundation that allowed for a narrow crawl space from under the floorboards outward and past the gates. There was only one exit however, and that was carefully hidden so as to prevent assassins from entering the compound.

Perhaps they had been found?

He remained silent as he stared hard at the trap door, training his ears to pick up any other sounds. Was… was that the sound of…

Digging?

_The dirt fell more easily now, packed together by nothing; not even grass held it together. He was close to his goal now. So close he could almost taste the food. He gave a quiet cheer as he broke through the top soil._

_Only to run his blond head into another hard surface._

_Reeling back, he clutched his head as he silently survived the brief spite of pain. Once it dulled to a throb, he ran his fingers over textured surface._

_**Wood.**__ He decided, skilled fingers tracing along it, looking for weaknesses. Nails catching on a defined edge, he paused in surprise, and then ran his fingers down the edge, following it as it turned a corner twice before finding a latch on the last edge. Unlatching it, he hissed out a grunt and shoved the object up, barking out a victory. Scanning the area, his bright blue eyes locked with coal black._

_**Human!**_

Sasuke watched with horrified amazement as the scratches that sounded against the wood ceased and a metallic clank made his skin prickle. Whatever was down there was coming up and soon. Briefly, he wondered if he should barricade the trap door, but the thought came a little too late as the door swung up and open and a blond head popped up with a garbled cheer.

Reddish-brown fox ears on top of blond locks flicked dirt off as the tanned shoulders came into view. The caramel colored face looked bright and cheery with grinning whisker marks and wild blue eyes that connected with his.

Wait… whiskers? Fox ears? This was a-!

"Beast man!" Sasuke gasped, taking a startled step back. The palace was supposed to be impenetrable! How did he-?

But his thoughts cut off there are flue eyes widened in fear before the beast attacked, shoving him to the ground. Pain erupted behind his eyes as his head cracked against the sharp edge of a shelf. Numb, he fell to the ground. Fighting and losing the war against unconsciousness, the young prince blacked out.

_Oh no, oh no, oh no! What did he do? He was only looking for food! How could this happen? He shrank back from the still human, tail curling around him to subconsciously hide his half naked form. A few moments passed and the human didn't stir._

_Did he… did he __**kill**__ him?_

_Clawed fingers gently prodded the unmoving body, looking for blood. The human was still breathing, so he wasn't dead, but blood was dripping onto the floor below the body. Before he got a chance to figure out why, his sensitive ears picked up hurried footsteps coming in their direction. Fearful, blue eyes flicked around wildly, looking for a hiding place before landing back on the floor opening. Without thinking, he shoved the human near it before dropping himself in._

_With clawed toes gripping the crumbling dirt, he dragged the human in and hefted the door back into place right before the other humans came. Silently, he slung the limp body onto his back and took off down the underground trails._

_Soon, darkness reigned around them._

Phantomworks: there you go!

**Alice; wow that seems pretty good.**

Phantomworks; I know. Hey, I've also posted a poll to see which story everyone wants me to do next. It's a tie breaker so please support the story you like best!


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